D3hockey.com Women's Team of the Week: February 15th

The ECAC West title clinchers grab three spots, a Blugold makes an appearance after they took out No. 2 UW-River Falls a second time, and a Gustie and Pioneer join the party in our second to last Team of the Week of the Regular Season!

Gustavus's Kaitlyn Klein had a big week to plant the Gusties as the MIAC frontrunners.
Photo: Gustavus Adolphus Athletics

How it works: Each week, Sports Information Directors from across the country submit week-long performances they've deemed worthy of being placed among the best in the nation in the week that was. For award purposes, a normal week will run from Monday to Sunday, so any games played on deadline day (deadline for nominations is 8pm Monday) are incorporated into the following week's award cycle. We also comb conference weekly releases, our own weekly recaps, and pick the brains of our staff to see who else may be a worthwhile candidate.

Once we get the school and league nominations, we select among top performances by position. It's an elite group. Three forwards, two defensemen, one goaltender. Nothing else. To get here, means you're one of best performers on the ice at your position in the week that was.

To be clear, we aren't just looking at raw numbers. We're also looking to incorporate players that contributed in the pivotal moments, season defining wins, and stunning upsets that make our brand of hockey so exciting.

Don't see a player here? Think they would have made the cut? Encourage your school's Sports Information Director to nominate deserving players each week. From now, through the week following conference championship games, SIDs can submit their nominations from 10pm each Saturday night until 8pm on Mondays utilizing their PrestoSports login at http://d3football.com/nominations/award-status. In an effort to be as thorough as possible, weekly releases from our member conferences are also accepted.

Now that we've explained the process, let's get to it. Here is your D3hockey.com National Team of the Week:

Goaltender

Camille Leonard, Plattsburgh, Senior Leonard went 3-0-0, posted two shutouts and had a 0.67 goals-against average and a .967 save percentage as top-ranked Plattsburgh State beat three top-10 nationally-ranked teams last week. Leonard posted a 17-save shutout in a non-conference 4-0 win against No. 7 Middlebury College on Wednesday before turning in 16 stops in Saturday's 4-2 win over No. 4 Elmira College. She capped the week by matching her season high with 26 saves in Sunday's 4-0 shutout win against Elmira. She ended the week with 69 career wins, which ties the school's and Division III's career victories record set by Sydney Aveson '14. On Monday, Leonard was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Women's West Goalie of the Week.

Defense

Megan Crandell, Plattsburgh, JuniorCrandell logged three points on one goal and two assists and was a +4 as top-ranked Plattsburgh State beat three top-10 nationally-ranked teams last week. Crandell provided all three of her points, including a power-play tally at 14:01 of the first period, in Saturday?s 4-2 win against No. 4 Elmira College. She later assisted on the go-ahead goal at 3:15 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie. Crandell and the Cardinal defense held their opponents to just 0.67 goals on 20.3 shots in the three-game span.

Jane Pagano, Utica, SeniorPagano totaled three goals and one assist as Utica went 2-0 last weekend. On Friday, she had two goals, including a short-handed game-winner and assisted on an insurance tally as the Pioneers defeated Neumann 4-1. She followed that up with the eventual game-winner in Saturday's 5-2 victory. On the season, she leads the team with nine goals, and she has also added nine assists.

Forward

Kelly Knetter, UW-Eau Claire, Sophomore Knetter, the WIAC Player of the Week, had a goal and assist in the Eau Claire's 3-1 win over No. 2 UW-River Falls on Friday.In a 3-2 loss to UW-River Falls the following night, Knetter gave the Blugolds a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 13:31 of the first period. The win over the Falcons set a Blugold record for wins in a season, and was only River Falls's second loss of the season with the other also by way of the Blugolds in November.

Kaitlyn Klein, Gustavus Adolphus, Junior Klein propelled the Gusties to a sweep of Bethel that moved them into first place in the MIAC while clinching a playoff spot. On Friday, she collected two assists. On Saturday she scored the icebreaker goal, her tenth of the year, in a 3-0 shutout win at Bethel. Including Saturday's score, she has a MIAC-best six game winning goals. Klein is the MIAC Player of the Week.

Courtney Moriarty, Plattsburgh, SophomoreMoriarty had five points on three goals and two assists and was a +5 as top-ranked Plattsburgh State beat three top-10 nationally-ranked teams last week. She scored two third-period goals, including the go-ahead tally at 3:15 to break a 2-2 tie, in Saturday's 4-2 win against No. 4 Elmira College. Moriarty followed up with one goal and two helpers, including scoring the game-winning marker, in Sunday?s 4-0 victory over Elmira. Both of Moriarty's assists came on special teams goals. On Monday, Moriarty was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Women's West Player of the Week.